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Ecuadorian piggeries will produce biogas and organic fertilizers

14 April 2016

[Ecuador]

Pig producer associations from Ecuador’s Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas and El Oro provinces have introduced a member-wide policy for the implementation of anaerobic digestion to treat manure and capture the benefits of its biogas and biofertilizer subproducts. The objective of the policy is to have at least 80 percent of members using anaerobic digestion within the next two years.

The policy is initiated by the GENCAPER Project which aimed to promote adaptation and mitigation measures that use the energy contained in livestock manure. GENCAPER included six demonstration projects for anaerobic digestion, in which manure yielded biogas and fertilizer for use on the farm. The project also generated two manuals to support producers and technicians in constructing and maintaining bio-digesters, as well as in using the biogas and biofertilizer subproducts.

In addition, the Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN) and its members (including CATIE and the Costa Rica-based biogas company VIOGAZ) together with the Ecuadorian Ministry of Environment will use the products of the GENCAPER Project and other initiatives in Ecuador to design a national-level proposal for the integrated management of manure. The proposal will focus on the small and medium-sized producers who make up over 80% of Ecuadorian farms.